


The Haunted

by Rhang



Series: The Haunted Collection [1]
Category: Black Panther (2018), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Afro-Latino!Bucky, Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Race Changes, Curses, F/M, Family Rivalries, Friendship, I'm for real this time it's a slow burn, Indigenous!Steve, Looking out for thy neighbor, Love Confessions, M/M, Magic and Spellcasting, Mourning, Old beefs, Paranormal, Pining, Sam Wilson-centric, Secrets closely kept, Slow Burn, Suspense, Unrequited Love, a true power couple, creepy imagery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-06-21 01:10:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15546294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhang/pseuds/Rhang
Summary: Sam moves back to his hometown and into his grandparents’ old home. All is well until strange occurrences begin happening. Sam just wishes he knew why he seems to be the target for all of it.





	1. Retrace Your Steps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no explanation for this. I just came up with it because I was in the mood for a story like this. If this were a show I imagine it’d be a mix of Queen Sugar (the drama and intense relationships) and The Originals (the magic and deep history).
> 
> With that said, this story includes mention of traditions I know, that I am familiar with as well as a few others. Out of respect for these traditions I have changed, omitted and/or left vague details pertaining to said traditions. I have also chosen not to name any of the traditions specifically for the same reason since I have made changes. That being said, if you recognize a tradition and I made a change that is out of line or completely illogical, do let me know. I am more than happy to make corrections. (Comments will be moderated for this purpose alone.)
> 
> AGAIN if you did not see the tags...Steve is of Indigenous heritage and Bucky is Afro-Latino in this story. For reference, please see the links provided and the amazing work of Tumblr artist [11thsense](https://11thsense-art.tumblr.com/), their illustrations of Indigenous!Steve and Mixed!Bucky gave my mind's eye something to latch onto while envisioning this story: [Bucky](https://11thsense-art.tumblr.com/post/165207152548/11thsense-the-name-is-james-buchanan-barnes), [Steve](https://11thsense-art.tumblr.com/post/160996641438/11thsense-theyre-talking-about-tony), [The Trio](https://11thsense-art.tumblr.com/post/160996648558/11thsense-steve-listens-attentively-and-bucky).
> 
> Any mistakes are mine. Otherwise do enjoy yourself! :D

Birds chirped in the distance as the late afternoon winds filtered through the tall grasses in the distance carrying the saturated heat through the windows and into the house. The place still smelled like fresh paint but it smelled better than it did two hours before. It had been a month since the funeral, two weeks since he’d begun fixing things up around the house but it had only been the second night he’d slept in his grandparents' house.

Sam didn’t necessarily like thinking too much about his grandparents’ passing and that time 6 years ago. He had been away at college when he got that news. It didn’t help his lingering guilt much when he had just graduated grad school 2 months ago and got the call from his aunt about his parents’ passing away in a car accident. That call started the process that brought him back to his hometown and fixing up his grandparents’ old home.

His mom got the house after his grandparents passed. Sam knew his mom couldn’t part with it but she also didn’t have the strength to live in it either with too many memories of her parents there. Since Sam’s parents had moved to an apartment when Sam went away to college – being the last of his siblings to do so – they sold the house he grew up in. His grandparents’ place was the last bit of his childhood left untouched in town. His grandparents loved that house and the land, he couldn’t in good conscious let the rest of family sell it.

It wasn’t like anyone was fighting him for it either so that was a definite plus in his favor.

He heard the oven timer **ding** and went to the kitchen to take out the fresh bread and pastries he made. He grabbed a plate and plated half of the pastries. He cut the bread loaf in half before putting it on another plate then carried everything over to the little table he had setup in the corner as a temporary altar.

He’d learned his family’s traditions from his grandparents and knew there was no way he could live peacefully in their home without paying homage to his ancestors. He made a point to drive into town the day before and grab a few things he’d need for the time being until the rest of his belongings could be shipped down in the next couple of days. Sam looked at the pictures he’d assembled of family members from around the house and placed on the small table he’d covered with a white cloth. He popped back into the kitchen for a glass and opened the bottle of Hennessy he’d bought along with a month’s supply of candles. He filled the glass half way and placed it on the altar with the pitcher of water, cooked rice, bread, chocolate and pastries.

“See,” he said smiling. "I told yall I got you."

He grabbed a candle from the plastic bag on the floor and did a quick cleanse of it – he didn’t have his supplies to properly dress the candle as he should have. But he was certain his ancestors would understand he was working with limited means at the moment. Putting the candle in place, he said a few prayers and lit it. He looked at his humble altar and hoped his family would be pleased. His eyes fell on the picture of his parents smiling, hugging, enjoying themselves at a birthday party in the house. Sam felt his throat tighten. He raised the Henny bottle in salute to them and took a swig in their honor.

A saddened sigh left his chest as he closed the bottle and looked at the time. It was getting late and he knew he needed to shower and get the paint off his skin before he went anywhere near that old ass gas stove to get it running again. He'd been using the newer stove for the time being despite its broken burners so if he could get the gas stove working he'd have a fully working appliance.

He popped back into the kitchen to check on the crock pot to see if his roast stew was almost done. However it needed extra time to simmer and cook, he figured, and it could do that while he got cleaned up. Sam prepared some hot dish water and listened to the quiet of the house. With the A/C off, the wind outside could be heard creaking the rocking chairs on the porch and blowing the chimes.

Sam relaxed standing there in the kitchen taking a moment to himself.

_Scratch! Scratch!_

Sam whipped his head to look toward the front door at the sound. He moved cautiously to the door, not expecting any visitors. _Scratch!_ He heard it again on the other side of the door and felt his pulse speed up a bit. He checked the peephole in the door but saw nothing out there. Sam opened the front door slowly and jumped when he saw something move on the porch beyond the screen. It moved closer and nosed at the screen gently. It was a black Rottweiler.

Sam sighed and clutched his chest trying to calm himself down.

“It’s just you,” Sam said opening the screen door to let the dog in. "Scared me half to death." He watched the dog walk across the hardwood floors, it’s nails clicked as it walked then jump up and got comfortable on the couch.

“I’m going to go shower and I’ll be back down,” he said heading upstairs to wash up.

 

When he came back down, he felt refreshed but his stomach turned a bit from the alcohol. He didn’t exactly eat lunch as he tried to finish painting the living room before he started unpacking the first boxes. Sam walked past the living room to see Bucky lounging on his couch eating a pastry.

Sam nearly cursed. “Where the hell did you get that from?” Sam asked frightened, hoping to Heaven Bucky hadn’t taken anything off the altar.

“Relax. I got it from the kitchen. I know better than to mess with your folks,” Bucky said enjoying the sweet pastry filled with summer ripened strawberries. “I know an altar when I see one Sam.”

Sam eyed Bucky and walked on to the kitchen. “If you’re going to turn back why not just walk in the house yourself? Always tryin’ to scare someone.” Sam sucked his teeth.

When he was little, Sam always figured magic was a fairy tale situation. _Jack and the Bean Stock_ or _Cinderella_ , just stories. But as he grew up and started experiencing weird things in his day to day life his grandparents took him under their wing. They taught him his family’s traditions and about their long history of using “ _conjure_ ” as his grandmother called. Sam thought about the magic he’d seen his grandmother use to heal bleeding wounds within hours or lift someone’s spirits with just a slice of pie. For a while that was Sam’s understanding of magic, it’s practical use for healing and the application of herbs. Until he met Bucky, a shapeshifter, when he was seven or eight years old and suddenly his understanding deepened. While he knew beings like Bucky existed, he’d heard of others using actual levitation and moving shit with magic, Sam had never seen it for himself. His grandmother would talk about spirits but Sam didn’t have the Sight so he couldn’t see them for himself. As a magic user Sam was comfortable with where he stood within the magic world. He had friends that were deeply involved but Sam was just fine where he was.

“Everyone loves a gentleman Sam,” Bucky said from the couch.

Sam rolled his eyes and started fixing two plates of stew and rice. Sam looked out the kitchen window briefly and thought about everything he’d done in the past month. How he wasn’t exactly sure if what he was doing was the right thing but he knew he felt the need to be closer to home right now.

He carried the plates out into the quiet living room and handed Bucky one of them. The Sun had finally set and outside was quickly falling into darkness for the evening, the inside of house was drastically bright since Sam had turned so many lights on knowing night time came quick if he didn’t keep some of them on. With the windows still open a cooler breeze wafted in through the screens. Sam took a seat on the couch and ate. The cable was scheduled to be setup tomorrow so they ate quietly and shared company over their meal.

Sam looked at his childhood friend and finally noticed something that should have caught his attention sooner. He reached over and touched Bucky’s left arm, running his fingers against the prosthetic that was a shade lighter than the rest of Bucky’s brown skin but fit him just the same.

“When did you get a new one?” Sam asked remembering when Bucky had originally lost his arm in the accident just before Sam moved away for college.

It was a scary day when Bucky got shot while in crow form by a neighbor nearby while flying too low to the ground. The shot took Bucky’s left wing, thus his left arm right off. Sam remembered how Corren gave the cover story at the hospital that Bucky had an accident with the field equipment to explain how it happened so he could get the proper treatment. Considering how bad it could have been, Sam was thankful Bucky was still alive.

“Mom cashed in a favor with a friend and got me this,” Bucky said extending his arm to show Sam. The old prosthetic couldn’t shift with him so he couldn’t shift to any of his animal forms and move around. So Bucky was eternally thankful for the new one. For a time Bucky thought he’d never be able to shift again but the new prosthetic was a better fit, more lifelike and enchanted to shift along with Bucky when he wanted to so he would have mobility in any form he chose. “I can shift and it’ll shift along with me.”

Sam looked amazed. “That’s amazing! How did they manage that?” he asked as he went back to eating and listened to Bucky.

“It was some real backwoods magic, I’ll tell you that much. You would have loved it,” Bucky said smirking.

“I bet I would have,” Sam said remembering his own heavy interest in older magical practices that were very similar to what his grandparents had taught him.

Bucky looked around the cleaned but mostly empty living room and remembered how it used to look when he would run around this very room as a kid with Sam and Steve. He remembered visiting Sam’s grandparents with him on the weekends and always feeling welcomed there. Bucky liked helping Sam’s grandpa work the land and out in the yard. He remembered playing hide-and-seek with Sam and Steve in fields.

Bucky glanced at Sam and remembered Sam’s tears at his grandparents’ funerals, at his parents’ funeral and wished Sam had come back on happier occasions so his recent memories of this place weren’t centered around sadness and loss. Bucky had truly missed his friend and wished better for him.

He touched Sam’s knee. “I’m glad you’re back Sammy,” Bucky said softly.

Sam looked into Bucky’s eyes and nodded. He missed his parents, missed his grandparents but it did feel good to be back home in spaces he knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh the calm before the storm.


	2. The Specter in the Fields

The day Sam completed the renovations on the house and got a majority his boxes unpacked, he figured he deserved a break. He decided on a walk and headed out into the fields. Bucky accompanied him in his Rottweiler form and walked by his side for a while before he took off on his own and left Sam to his thoughts.

Sam looked out on the acres of his family’s land, the land his great-great grandparents sharecropped after enslavement and passed down generation after generation. Sam felt humbled standing on the land his family lived and died on, for decades unknown, and understood why his grandpa would smile when Sam, his siblings, Steve, and Bucky came over to play and help out. His grandpa would tell Sam that it felt good to hear laughter and see happiness in the fields, that it pleased the earth. Sam didn’t understand at the time but he understood now. Laughter, giggles and cries meant your family had a future, that there’d be another generation to tend to the land, so it was a cause for rejoice and happiness.

Sam looked to his left and by the angle of sunlight he saw himself young again and working beside his grandpa taking care of the crops and checking on the patches of greens and potatoes. It was like watching a movie play before his eyes in real time. His grandpa took his hand and walked Sam back to the house and the memory faded away softly. Sam looked around, there was no trace left of what he’d seen. It left him with an odd feeling. Sam thought about the memory and smiled before he looked up and saw a man walking maybe half a mile away in the fields. The sight startled him. No one else was supposed to be on the property. Where the guy was standing was where the rural woods met the edge of the crop land. To Sam’s knowledge part of those woods belonged to his family too as a buffer zone, there was no reason anyone should be walking around out there.

“HEY!” Sam yelled as he stared toward the man. “This is private property! **HEY!** ”

Then something stopped him cold. Thoughts of what his grandmother used to say about calling out to things you weren’t sure were alive or not came back to him suddenly. Sam stopped and looked back over at the man and tried to notice any details he could see. Sam felt a chill run over his skin– outside in the high noon Sun–as he noticed the person wasn’t moving and didn’t have any noticeable features. He looked around to see if there were any other figures behind him in the waist high grass and heard Bucky start barking suddenly.

Bucky ran up to Sam from the direction the figure was in and stood in front of Sam in a protective stance. Sam looked back in the direction of the unknown figure and saw it had disappeared. His heart began to race as he looked around for it and saw the specter suddenly watching him now from the edge of the woods just yards away from him. Bucky moved and started growling in that direction.

“Buck, let’s get back to the house,” Sam said softly backing up but keeping his eyes on the specter.  He could now see it had no face and was just a dark silhouetted mass in the middle of the day.

Sam backed away from where he stood as the specter did not move. It just stood there as if glaring at him. Sam finally turned his back on the thing watching him and hurried back to the house. Bucky kept pace at his side for a while until Sam felt the hair on the back of neck stand up and goosebumps began to rise on his skin. Sam made fists with his hands and Bucky stopped walking beside him, he was now growling at something behind Sam–something following them. But Sam dare not turn to look; he couldn’t look away from his feet as he treaded through the tall grass back to the house where he hoped the specter wouldn’t follow.

The moment Sam got inside the house he looked out the window but didn’t see the specter anymore. Hands slightly trembling he rushed to grab his phone to call Steve. Sam paced back and forth as Bucky changed back and slipped on his clothes.

“You gotta call Steve,” Bucky said quickly freaked out. “You saw that right?!”

“I’m calling him! Yes I saw that! What the fuck was that?” Sam said dialing Steve’s number again.

“I need a drink,” Bucky said passing Sam for the kitchen, his footsteps falling fast against the hardwood floors of the living room. His nerves were bad and experiencing that in animal form was horrible. Now he understood why animals ran for the hills when shit got weird, the sensory overload was off the charts and incomprehensible for an animal’s mind to process. Bucky took a shot of vodka and tapped his foot hurriedly hoping Sam could get in touch with Steve.

Sam waited for Steve to pick up and took another look outside at the fields. He was worried something or someone in his family was upset about him moving back and living in the house. If that was the case he needed to know who and how to resolve this. Steve could certainly help with that.

“Hello? Sam?” Steve said when he picked up finally.

“Steve! Oh my goodness, it’s good to hear you man. I need your help over at my grandparents’ place. Bucky and I were walking out in the field and we saw something! Steve I saw something, what the fuck-I-I don’t see shit Steve, but I saw something and I’m freaking out. I don’t know what to do,” Sam rambled frightened.

Steve felt his stomach knot at the sound of fear between Sam’s words. “I’ll be right over. Just sit tight. I’m on my way,” Steve said hanging up and grabbing his things to head over.

It was a twenty minute drive but Steve was certain he could do it in ten.

 

 

Steve arrived and hugged Sam tight, happy to see him again–first time since his parents’ funeral.

“It’s good to see you again Sam,” Steve said looking into Sam’s eyes disliking the worry on Sam’s face.

“It’s good to see you too Steve. I was happy to be back too until the-the experience in the field,” Sam said glancing at the window but not looking long enough to look out of it.

“I did feel something was off on my drive over, like approaching the property,” Steve explained softly. “Like something was watching me.”

“Then there’s something out there for sure,” Sam said feeling better knowing that what he and Bucky saw wasn’t their eyes playing tricks on them.

Bucky walked out of the kitchen feeling his nerves even out and saw Steve had arrived. He nodded at Steve but said nothing else. Steve acknowledged Bucky as well but didn’t say anything either.

Sam looked at the both of them. “What’s the problem between you two?” Sam asked wondering about the silence between them.

“Nothing,” Steve said.

“Bullshit. Steve is just mad that I came over to stay with you since you got back,” Bucky explained. “I’m not above admitting I missed you Sam.”

Sam looked at Steve about to say something when Steve said, “I’m going to take a look at the field.” Steve then headed outside to get a reading off the land, not in the mood for Bucky’s constant pushing and games.

Sam glanced at Bucky suspiciously and followed Steve outside. He stood on the porch with Bucky as they watched Steve walk out into the tall grass they’d left just an hour ago in a panic.

“What was that all about Buck? Between you and Steve?” Sam asked glancing over at the man with dark tan skin, curly black hair and the crystal blue eyes that gave all of his animal forms such an otherworldly appearance.  

Bucky smirked handsomely and looked at Sam, “I’m surprised you don’t know Sam,” Bucky said as Sam’s attention was drawn back to Steve who had just reached the spot where Sam saw the specter and he paid close attention. Bucky watched Sam closely before saying under his breath, “Then again you were never the most perceptive with some things.”

Steve immediately looked back at the house. Sam knew Steve had picked up on something.

Steve returned to the house soon after. “I’m not sure what it is. But whatever it is was sent by someone else from somewhere else,” Steve explained glancing back out where he just was and tried to shake the feeling being out there gave him.

Sam felt partial relief wash over him that it was not anyone in his family. That none of his ancestors were angry with him. But he knew resolving that would be simpler than having an unknown person trying to fuck with him.

“There’s nothing wrong with the land. I would recommend you not do anything until you’re more certain about who’s behind this,” Steve said wishing he had more to tell Sam. But Steve was worried because what he felt out there was hostile to say the least.

Sam sighed at Steve’s verdict but reasoned there wasn’t much else to do be done at that point.

“You’re already here, stay for dinner,” Sam told Steve.

Steve smiled and nodded. “Sure, I’d love to,” Steve said smiling. “It’ll give me a chance to see the changes you’ve made to the house.”

Sam chuckled at that. “I didn’t do too much. I was afraid my grandmother would make me restless at night if I did,” Sam confessed as they went in the house.

 

 

The hours ticked by unseen as the three of them talked it up and reminisced on their memories in the house. Laughed about the time they knocked over all of the greens that one harvest and had to wash each leaf individually as punishment. The s’mores they made with Sam’s brother and sisters that one Junteenth because all of the red on the dessert table was freaking all of the kids out. Sam and Steve cooked dinner while Bucky worked on making a pie from his memories of working with Sam’s grandmother. They all agreed Bucky’s attempt was close but the pie was still missing something. They stayed up talking, eating and drinking at the dining room table, enjoying each other after being apart for so long.

Sam laughed and really felt happiness come back to him after all of the sadness of the last month of his life. He looked at his long time friends and felt thankful they were there to support him. Happy he still had caring people in his life.

“I’m proud of you Steve, still rockin’ the hair,” Sam said smiling.

Steve combed his fingers through his long, straight, brown hair and smiled at Sam. “What you don’t like it?”

“You know I love it man. But damn it’s grown! It was around the middle of your back when I left for undergrad now it’s almost past your ass,” Sam said admiring Steve’s hair.

Steve nodded and remembered how Sam’s sisters would fawn over him because of his long hair and pretty features. Steve was an only child for a while and one of the few Native kids that went to the local schools in the area. While he got picked on and made fun of for wearing his braids or for having longer hair for a boy, Steve never felt ashamed. He was proud of his heritage and traditions; he didn’t let it faze him. But when the teasing got to be too much sometimes it helped that his close friends cared about him, appreciated cultural differences and were raised understanding the importance of respecting others and where they come from.

“I’ve cut it a few times since. But only a little to keep it even,” Steve explained before taking a sip of his beer.

“Looks great,” Sam said.

“He’s keeping his mane glossy for when he becomes a shaman,” Bucky said cheekily.

“Shut up Buck,” Steve said annoyed.

“What?” Bucky said shrugging. “It’s true.”

“So you’re gonna do it? Become a shaman?”

“I still have several years to go, but yeah I’m working on learning what I need to,” Steve said softly.

Sam reached over and touched Steve’s arm. “That’s really great Steve. I know you’ve wanted this since we were little,” Sam said softly.

Steve tried not to focus on Sam touching his arm. “Yeah,” Steve said smiling.

“Well guys, I’m headed upstairs to shower. You’re welcome to crash here. I’ll be back down in a bit,” Sam said getting up.

“I’ll handle the dishes Sam, don’t worry,” Bucky said softly watching Sam get up.

“Thanks Buck,” Sam said heading upstairs.  

Once Sam was upstairs and they could hear him walking around up there Bucky looked over at Steve across the table and shook his head.

“How long you plan on protecting that flame you got for him?” Bucky asked knowingly.

“It’s not that simple Buck,” Steve said finishing his beer off. He figured he’d stay the night instead of driving home tonight.  

“Yeah it is. You tell him how you feel before you start a wildfire with that fuckin’ thing,” Bucky joked. Steve laughed. “It’s been _years_ Stevie. I know that shit could melt glass at this point.”

Steve choked back the deep laughter he felt and just smiled shaking his head. Bucky and that sense of humor of his, Steve thought.  

“It’s just been a while since I’ve seen him. I’m surprised he’s moved back and _single_ at that. I was almost certain he’d be married by now ya know?” Steve said thinking about his ongoing feelings for Sam.

“Yeah, Stevie. But he’s not,” Bucky said wishing Steve would find some courage and tell Sam how he’s felt after all these years.

Steve wasn’t exactly sure when he’d started liking Sam or when that infatuation turned into something deeper but it had been years and shaking those feelings wasn’t easy now that Sam was back in town and available. But Steve was more concerned about telling Sam and ruining their friendship over his feelings that were most likely one sided.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot will thicken....


	3. Prolonged Paralysis

**–Next Morning–**

The fitful sleep started some time during the night as Sam realized he couldn’t get comfortable and couldn’t stay asleep long enough to fall deeply under. There was something about his dreams, they didn’t feel like nightmares but they left him with unsettling feelings, like someone was constantly changing the channel not giving him a chance to see or figure out what the dream was about.

Sam decided to just get up and get a drink of water to calm his nerves and opened his eyes. He tried to move but no part of his body was responding to his will to want to get out of bed and walk.  He couldn’t move. He glanced around his room and noticed something out of the corner of his eye. It was moving fast and had just moved out of his line of sight. He felt himself start screaming but the sound wasn’t getting out. He only knew he was screaming because he wanted to. With all of his might he wanted to scream his lungs out because he was afraid and worried that whatever he saw was still in the room with him and he couldn’t protect himself or call for fucking help. Sam shut his eyes, not wanting to see anything that may push his blood pressure any higher.

Sam tried to calm himself and begged for help from his ancestors. He prayed to God that he could get someone’s attention, to let someone know what was happening to him. Sam suddenly heard his scream pierce the air around him. It felt delayed somehow but Sam continued to scream and hoped Bucky or Steve or anyone could hear him.

Bucky was coming down the hall to Sam’s room as Steve was close on his heels coming from downstairs as they heard Sam’s screams. The screams frightened them both out of their sleep and got them moving. They entered the room and Bucky was horrified, as was Steve, to see Sam screaming, unable to move. He was frozen stiff on his back.

Bucky raced to Sam’s side and touched his arm; he was cold to the touch as Bucky noticed tears are running down Sam’s cheeks. Sam calmed seeing Steve and Bucky enter the room and felt a little better knowing he wasn’t alone and vulnerable to whatever it was that he saw in the room before. He tried to talk and realized he couldn’t speak or say any words. He sighed internally frustrated. He focused and prayed again to speak, to say one word because he knew who to call about something like this.

“Fix him Steve!” Bucky spat out worried as he got up and approached Steve. “Fix it!”

Steve shook his head. “I-I don’t know what this is,” Steve said caught off guard and frightened. He’d seen people cursed before but never something like this. Steve racked his brain for an answer. All three of them ate the same food last night, drank from closed beer bottles so there couldn’t have been something foreign in Sam’s food.

Sam struggled to say the one word he needed to tell Steve and Bucky. Thankfully, the word eventually slipped out.  

“Erik!” Sam yelled with all his might as he felt whatever it was grip tighter on him as if in retaliation for speaking through its bounds.

Steve closed his eyes and sighed mildly upset that they had to call _him_ of all people. Steve wondered if he could break this himself then turned to Bucky to ask if there was anyone else they could call for help. Only to see Bucky already on Sam’s cell as if waiting for someone to pick up.

“Yeah Erik. Sam needs your help. Get here quick,” Bucky said staring at Sam as more tears leaked from the corner of Sam's eye.

 

 

It had been an hour since they called when Erik arrived. Bucky let him in the house and showed him upstairs while Steve stayed at Sam’s bedside keeping him company, letting Sam know he wasn’t alone.

Erik walked into Sam’s bedroom with a bag of supplies and took notice of Sam’s condition. Yeah, it was a curse alright and Erik had to work quick because it looked like Sam had torn at the curse a bit which would make it a bit difficult to remove.

“What took you so long?” Steve asked upset the other had kept Sam waiting so long when he’d asked for help.

Erik stared at Steve. “Like I have to explain myself to you,” Erik said moving to take the things he’d brought with him out of the bag. “I was getting supplies or do you want Sam to stay like this?”

Steve sat back in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest and motioned for Erik to get to work.

Erik smirked darkly at Steve shaking his head. He was glad to see Steve was still a huge prick after all this time. “I need the room,” Erik declared.

Bucky moved to grab Steve and moved him out of the room and out of Erik’s way. Bucky—especially Sam—didn’t have time for the two of them to get into it again with their petty arguing. Bucky and Steve stood silently in the hall and waited for several minutes as they listened to Erik chant and repeat phrases. The house slightly trembled after they heard a soft bang and suddenly heard Sam gasp out loud.

“Thank you! Thank you Erik!” they heard Sam’s voice say.

They hurried back into the room and saw the curtains and window were opened and Sam was sitting up, moving again. He was shaking as he hugged Erik—more like clung to him.

Erik felt his heart tremble. Sam was honestly afraid there for a moment. He rubbed Sam’s back reassuringly.

“Who did you piss off to be crossed like that?” Erik asked trying to get Sam to laugh, to calm him down and get him to realize it was going to be okay.

Sam gave a soft chuckle at that.

“It was almost a bit too much for me," Erik said moving to look Sam in the eye. " _Almost._ ”

“You alright Sam?” Bucky asked wanting to know.

Sam looked into Erik’s eyes and nodded. “Yeah, I’m good,” Sam said getting up to stand and started getting dressed.

“I need to cleanse myself and cook something,” Sam said pulling on some sweats and a t-shirt in his bathroom before he walked back out into his room to three pairs of eyes watching him worriedly.

“That may not work out if you’ve been crossed Sam. Whoever did it could have messed with your magic too. Anything you do to help yourself could now harm you further,” Erik explained.  

Sam looked at Erik and Steve and shook his head, laughing without any humor left within him. “Coming back here, moving back was not supposed to be all of this,” Sam said feeling it weigh on him. Part of him knew he may not be able to come back and live here without engaging in some way with his family’s magic but he honestly thought it would be his ancestors pushing books and messages in his way to take back up the traditions. But not this; not attacks from an unknown source forcing him to better his abilities and defenses.

Erik sighed. “It usually isn’t but someone is gunning for you man,” Erik said. “There are eyes outside watching this place.”

Sam stared at Erik feeling the blood drain from his face. “Steve said the same thing,” Sam said really worried now that the prying eyes were still out there.  

Erik glanced over at Steve unimpressed. “Doesn’t take a medium to sense it so I’m not surprised,” Erik said throwing that out there to piss Steve off.

Steve rolled his eyes.

“I’ll cook for you Sam, come on downstairs and take a load off,” Erik said heading downstairs to cook.

Everyone left the room feeling heavy and a bit hungry as it was closer to lunch now having their morning devoured by this paralyzing situation.

 

 

Sam sat at the dining room table with Bucky drinking on vodka since Bucky took the Hennessy from Sam and told him it was too early for that shit. Steve let them drink a bit before he took their glasses of alcohol away and gave each of them orange juice instead. Bucky took his drink back and tossed the vodka into his juice and swirled it. Steve smirked at him and Sam shook his head snorting.

“Say what you want. This is the second time in two days I’ve seen some scary shit. I’m not handling it well. Sue me,” Bucky said drinking his cocktail. He'd felt jittery ever since he and Sam left the fields yesterday and waking up to Sam screaming only made it that much worse.

“You don’t have to stay Steve. I know I’m keeping you from work,” Sam said feeling bad that his personal problems had involved so many others and was steadily getting more complicated by the minute.  

Steve touched Sam’s hand, not seeing how Sam could think Steve would be worried about anything else but him right now. “I’m right where I should be,” Steve said softly.

Sam smiled at Steve. Bucky got up to head to the kitchen and get more orange juice, without food on his stomach his drink was stronger than he liked after the fourth taste.

Erik looked behind him and saw Bucky in the refrigerator.

“How you been Erik?” Bucky asked. Aside from Steve who he saw every day, Bucky had only seen Erik recently at the funeral and around town a few times where they spoke cordially but not much more than that. Bucky was always cool with Erik. They never had any issues between the two of them. But they both knew they were more friends to Sam than they ever were friends to each other and they were okay with that.  

“Wavy,” Erik said as he finished plating the fried fish and added more butter in the grits he made for Sam to offset the other things he’d added to help clear Sam’s mind and energy. He glanced at Bucky briefly before he carried the food out to Sam.

He placed the plate of food in front of Sam. “I gotta go my guy. I’ll be back later on though to check you. Okay?” Erik said dapping Sam up.

Sam smiled gently at Erik and nodded. “Thank you Erik, for your help this morning,” Sam said sincerely.

Erik touched Sam’s cheek quickly and winked at him. “It’s not a problem. I told you my services are free of charge for you,” Erik said backing away from him.

Erik glanced at Steve and chuckled at the sour expression on the Steve’s face.

“See you later Sam,” Erik said walking out the front door.

Steve kept Sam company as he ate and left an hour later having got a call from his family, he was needed at home. Sam sent him off with the deepest thank you and told him to tell his mom he’d come by to see her soon. Steve asked if Sam was sure he wanted him to deliver that message because she’d hold him to it. Sam smirked and said yes, he was jonesing for a taste of her famous iced tea anyways so he had incentive to get out there.

After Steve left Sam joined Bucky on the couch to watch some TV until questions nagged him during the commercial break. He glanced over at Bucky and hoped the other would give him a straight answer.

“Did something happen while I was gone?” Sam asked. “Like between Steve and Erik. Why don’t they like each other?”

Bucky really took a moment to wonder if Sam had existed in a different realm than the rest of them while growing up or if it was because Bucky was more sensitive to energy than other people being a shifter and he noticed how people spoke to each other and acted around each other.

“They never really liked each other when they were younger Sam,” Bucky said shifting in his seat before looking over at Sam.

“I don’t remember it like that. Yeah they were prickly to each other, always a little jealous for my attention but nothing like what I saw today,” Sam pressed. Bucky had to give Sam some credit if he understood at least that part of the beef between Steve and Erik.

“You were the glue that held us all together Sam. Shit hasn’t been the same since you left that’s all,” Bucky said simply, putting it in the plainest terms he could. He got up and went to the kitchen for some water.

Sam felt saddened at hearing that and sunk back into the couch wondering if coming back was for the best; if stirring up old rifts between his friends was worth it. That all of these antagonizing events occurring in his life right now may be his price to pay for the unrest he was causing between them. Sam felt his entire mood sink lower as the show came back on. He had lost all interest in it. 

Bucky thought back on the dynamic between the four of them as teenagers as he stood in the kitchen and remembered how Steve expressed feeling a drift occur between his self and Sam when Sam and Erik started learning their familial magic traditions. Since the traditions were so similar Sam and Erik were able to compare notes and lean on each other for the difficult parts of their learning. Didn’t help matters much that Erik’s cousin was like a _Conjure_ prodigy so Sam was always hanging out over at Erik’s at a certain point in time. Bucky even remembered missing Sam for a few months back then as well. But Bucky didn’t hold that against Sam or Erik but Steve did developed an unease around Erik when it came to Sam. Bucky couldn’t blame Steve feeling jealous around Erik because of Steve’s feelings for Sam but he also wished Steve could stop treating Erik as an adversary and just talk to Sam.

Bucky looked in on Sam sitting on the couch and felt that quiet flutter in his heart that he usually felt looking at the man. He wished Steve would speak up because there was nothing more that Bucky wished to do. He wanted to tell Sam how he felt about him but he refused to do that to Steve, his brother, refused to do that to either of them. Not when those two deserved the best—deserved each other.   

He pushed aside his feelings and put his glass down. He folded his clothes and left them on a chair in the kitchen and shifted into a black cat. He walked out into the living room and on over to Sam. He could tell Sam was feeling down so he hopped up into his lap. Sam petted him gently without a second thought and Bucky was thankful he couldn’t cry in this form.

 _This is enough,_ Bucky thought to himself. _It has to be._

He rested in Sam’s lap feeling Sam’s mood lift a bit while petting him.

 

 

Erik came back later that night when Bucky had retired for the evening and went to bed. Erik and Sam sat on the porch steps talking while the summer heat swirled around them and the fireflies were out in the field. The oppressive feeling of being watched was still overly there but there was just a wonder about this place no one could mess with, Sam thought. 

Erik looked over at Sam, admiring him and shook his head. “All these years and ya ass still a pretty boy huh?” Erik said teasing him. Sam shook his head and smirked. Erik always knew how way to compliment Sam that made him laugh and smile at the same time.

“I remember you not having a problem with that Stevens,” Sam said glancing over at his ex. “You took my ass to prom didn’t you?”

Erik laughed and clapped, remembering when they went to prom together and caused such a stir at school. “Yeah, yeah I did and I would do it again,” Erik said eyeing Sam. They’d dated for a few months after that too before they broke things off and Sam went away to college. “That night was like the latest I’d ever stayed out,” Erik laughed, “Got my ass in trouble with my auntie for it too,” he said wiping a small tear from his eye.

“You never told me that,” Sam said quieting his laughter down.

Erik looked at Sam and sighed before he looked out on the yard and the sparse fireflies now.

“I never told you a lot Sam. But it was worth it,” Erik said softly. “…all of it was. So no worries.” He reached over and held Sam’s hand in his own.

Sam felt Erik’s hand holding his own and felt residual feelings stir in his chest. But they were just that…residual. He knew what he and Erik had was in the past. He wanted to ask Erik what he meant about ‘not telling him a lot’ but he knew Erik wouldn’t answer him. Erik never really talked unless he wanted to and nothing Sam knew of could change that. So he just enjoyed Erik’s company and caught up with him about what the last 6 years had been like for him and what was new in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like someone is _really_ fuckin' with Sam. This is wild! 
> 
> Oh Bucky....the self sacrifice...where to go with this my guy?


	4. The Ghost That Haunts You

**–Two Weeks Later–**

Things seemed to go dormant after Erik uncrossed Sam. Everything felt relatively normal in the house. Sam had even started working at his new job at the community college teaching the summer session. Bucky was over at the house almost six days out of the week so Sam just let him have a room and keep clothes in there despite spending most of his waking hours in his Rottweiler form.

Steve came over on the weekend for Saturday hang outs and everything was really peaceful….until they weren’t. It started when Sam woke up one morning and walked right through a cold spot in the upstairs hallway. He went to Bucky’s room and saw the other curled up tight in the blanket on his bed.

“Buck, you touched the thermostat?” Sam asked.

“No,” Bucky mumbled rolling onto his back. “But were you walking around, pacing last night?”

They stared at each other. Neither of them wanted to acknowledge what any of it could mean lest they end up back where they were two weeks ago **–** scared shitless.

“No, I wasn’t,” Sam said simply before shutting Bucky’s door and heading downstairs to get breakfast on.

They went about their day trying to keep their minds off of the weirdness of the morning. So with the day off Sam got some laundry done, cleaned up around the house, opened the windows and tended to the permanent alter he had in the back corner of his dining room just off the living room. Bucky was outside taking a look at the lawn mower so Sam could cut the grass eventually.

Sam headed upstairs to put laundry away in his dresser and saw a dark silhouette walk across the sunlit hallway of his home, from one room and into another room across the hall. He managed his fear and raced to see who it was in case it was someone he knew. He rounded the corner hoping he wouldn’t see anything but part of him wanted to catch another look at the thing. He looked into the room and saw absolutely nothing. He sighed annoyed. The shit was starting up again.

He went back downstairs.

Sam put his clean laundry down on the dining room table and went to his family altar to ask for help. He grabbed a pencil and paper to write his question. He anointed the question and addressed his family for their answer on what to do. He lit the paper on fire and let the question burn completely on the silver tray on the altar. Sam stepped back and watched the paper burn out before walking away hoping it reached someone. 

Sam checked back an hour later on the burnt paper, scrawled in a foreign handwriting, he received one word, “ ** _ward_** ”. So Sam consulted his notebooks and gathered everything his grandmother suggested for warding. He took care of his bedroom then every single room upstairs, then the downstairs and then the perimeter of the house. Bucky watched Sam circle the house several times with a smoking bowl and water.

He wanted to ask Sam what exactly he was doing but also didn’t want to break his concentration. So Bucky went back to fixing the engine on the mower and hoped whatever Sam was doing would keep them protected from whatever was tormenting them.

 

Sam laid down to sleep that night hoping the warding he did would work. Bucky volunteered to stay close in Rottweiler form and laid at the foot of Sam’s bed to keep him company through the night. Bucky sensed something and looked around the darkness for the cause. He growled low at first but the threat he sensed felt more imminent.

Sam woke up with a start as they both heard a piercing scream come from out in the fields; Bucky stood up and growled toward the window.

“What’s the issue Bucky?” Sam asked looking around his dark room. His heart was pounding in his chest hearing that scream. But nothing looked out place and all seemed fine until he heard something against his bedroom window. Sam looked and saw a flash of something there for the briefest second.

Sam felt dread fill him inside and reached for Bucky to come closer. Bucky walked up toward the headboard and sat over Sam’s lap as an odd tapping sound started at his window. The annoying tapping continued and Sam was suddenly 5 years old again, alone and frightened in his bedroom. It was a waking nightmare of the one he had as a boy of a constant tapping at his bedroom window that kept him awake each and every night. That was until his grandmother taught him his family history and what he could do about it.

Sam knew he should get up and confront the thing, require its name and who sent it but part of him was too afraid and since the paralysis he’d felt significantly weakened spiritually and not empowered at all. He had been feeling disconnected from his magic for a while but thought nothing of it. But now when he really needed it he felt so powerless and afraid.

Sam held Bucky close and prayed the sun rose soon and the tapping would end.

 

 

* * *

In the morning, Sam called up the last person he could think of that could help him with his situation. Tiredly, sitting at his kitchen table Sam called T’Challa Udaka, Erik’s cousin and explained the situation from start to finish of what had happened to him. T’Challa asked a few questions of his own for a better understanding and told Sam his warding worked if he didn’t feel anything inside of his home. The tapping outside just meant he needed to set a wider perimeter around his home and the land.  T’Challa suggested a boost to make the ward wider. Sam admitted how he had been feeling since Erik uncrossed him and the disconnect he was feeling from his magic. T’Challa acknowledged what Sam said and told him he’ been there in an hour.

“So?” Bucky asked wondering what T’Challa said.

“He’ll be here in an hour,” Sam answered putting his cell phone down to rub his eyes. He was exhausted and feeling like he was inches from the end of his rope at that point.

 Bucky could see how depleted Sam looked and wished he could do more for him. “I’m going to make some coffee,” Bucky said sadly.

“Thank you. Thank you so much Bucky,” Sam said resting his head on the kitchen table. “For everything,” Sam said nodding off. He couldn’t fight it anymore and needed to rest his eyes for a minute.

 

 

T’Challa arrived promptly in the company of his wife Nakia, who was gorgeously dressed in a flowing jewel green sundress. Sam congratulated T’Challa on getting married and told him Erik mentioned nothing about it to him. They both thanked Sam and both of them noticed the darkening atmosphere around him.  

“I was telling T’Challa as we came in there’s a feeling of being watched outside,” Nakia said looking around the home.

 Sam nodded his head and tried to smile but his effort failed half way through the endeavor.

“Yeah, we’ve been aware of that,” Bucky said softly figuring he’d finish the sentiment Sam was trying to express.

Nakia could feel Sam’s hopelessness and stepped toward him. “May I?” she asked offering him a hug. Sam nodded and allowed the woman to embrace him. He took a deep breath and felt his energy wane. “You’re so weak Sam,” she mentioned sorrowfully as she let him go.

“Yeah, but we can deal with that later. After we get the house warded,” Sam said brushing it off.

Nakia shook her head in disagreement. “Casting a ward while weakened is like building with glass. What energy can you put behind it if you’re depleted?” she explained to him.

Sam heard her and nodded. “I don’t know what else to do,” Sam admitted hollowly, unsure of what other options he had for getting himself back on track.

“Luckily T’Challa let me listen and I could hear it in your voice over the phone. I brought some things to give you the building blocks,” she explained taking his hand lovingly and walking him over to the couch. There was a gentleness and love in her voice and in her words that Sam couldn’t help but tear up at being in her presence.

“Thank you,” Sam said sucking back tears.

Nakia touched his cheek and gave him a warm smile. “No worries. We shall fix you up and get you back to yourself,” she said pulling out several glass jars from her bag. T’Challa and Bucky gave them some space and allowed Nakia to talk with Sam alone. Sam told her about where he was trying to get back into his magic practice and how he felt like a failure to his family and ancestors for not being able to protect his grandparents’ home and their land.

“I’m going to stop you right there Sam. Wasn’t the house passed on to you along with the land?” she asked with a smile.

“Yeah,” Sam said nodding.

“Then you’re protecting _your_ home and _your_ land. You are part of your family but this place is _yours_ now. You have to believe and act like it if you want to protect it. With you thinking of this place as someone else’s and not your own– it places you outside of the seat of power commanding it. You need to sit in that seat; do you understand what I’m saying?” Nakia asked checking with him.

“Yeah. Yeah I do,” Sam said realizing how he’d been thinking about the house all this time.

“As far as feeling like a failure, stop it. You’re learning. We are all still learning. And spoiler, the lessons only get harder the farther you go so keep that in mind. But you mustn’t let that dissuade you from learning and getting a grasp of this wonderful tradition,” she explained. Her voice was so wonderfully caring Sam felt better just listening to her.   

From there Nakia had Sam drink a few elixirs to strengthen him and spoke to him about protecting himself. That it wasn’t enough to do certain things like the basics of requesting coverage from the ancestors; that protecting yourself required being proactive, defensive, and vigilant against others that meant him harm. She gave Sam a few written notes on how to make the elixirs and how to cover himself in a protective energy as well as his personal space which was the house itself.

Once Sam got some protections going temporarily for himself using the power from the elixirs he drank he thanked Nakia and went outside to find Bucky and T’Challa chilling in the rocking chairs on the porch.

T’Challa rose from his chair nodding. “You already look better,” he mentioned.

“She’s amazing,” Sam said looking at Nakia.

“She is,” T’Challa said openly admiring his wife.

“Enough of that, let’s get to work,” Nakia said moving past the guys and out into the yard.

Sam and T’Challa followed her.

Bucky watched the three of them stand in the front yard and had a thought, “Should I leave the house while yall do that?”

“Do you want to?” T’Challa asked him.

“I was just asking. You know in case what you’re about to do kills any and everything in the house,” Bucky said smiling.

Sam shook his head absolutely done with Bucky. “Shut up Bucky!” Sam said chuckling.

Sam got his mind back on what they were about to do and looked at the house before him and the land he stood on and reminded himself that this was his property, that it belonged to him.

“Sam take the lead. We’ll back you up,” T’Challa said as the three of them knelt down on their knees to bury their hands in the soil underneath the big tree in the front yard. Sam considered a banishing chant he knew and added onto it shutting out all prying eyes from the area. He stopped himself short of sending anything back to the sender upon banishment, unsure if Nakia and T’Challa were okay giving their energy to something like that. That was something he learned from Erik but Sam knew not everyone was okay with cursing others. As Sam focused and reinforced the banishment, Bucky could feel the area become less oppressive immediately.

Upon finishing up, Sam thanked T’Challa and Nakia for their help and asked if the ward would be enough. They both said the prying eyes were gone. They headed back into the house to wash their hands properly. Sam poured everyone some lemonade, the sugary beverage a temporary pick-me-up after doing spellwork.

T’Challa looked out the back door. 

“Do Klaue and his people still live out west of the land?” T’Challa asked having sensed something while he was boosting Sam’s spell.

“Not sure,” Sam answered thinking about it. “But I saw someone that looked like Ulysses in town when I first got back and was doing renovations on the house.”

“You didn’t tell me that,” Bucky said looking at Sam.

“Slipped my mind. I saw him for a moment as I was walking into the store while he was checking out,” Sam explained. “I didn’t say anything to him.”

T’Challa considered what Sam said. “Well that may be the answer,” T’Challa said softly.

“How?” Sam asked.

“Have a seat, this is a long story,” T’Challa said as he proceeded to explain the ugly history between Sam’s grandparents and the Klaues that went back a ways. He explained why the Klaue family would be upset that Sam came back after the Klaues had been pressing Sam’s parents to sell the land for a while after his grandparents passed. How salty they were that Sam’s family got the land back in the sharecropping days and they felt that it rightfully belonged to the Klaue family.

So it made sense that the lot of them or just one of them would try to get Sam to move and sell by sending him all types of ghouls and haunts to scare him away.

Sam took in all that T’Challa told him and felt his anger rise. It was no longer just about him. Now Sam knew why he was being drawn back, why he felt so attached despite enduring all that he had. His ancestors wanted him to fight for what belonged to him. It all fell into place with humorous precision as Sam realized he was exactly where he was supposed to be. It was freakishly eerie but he’d never felt more empowered than he did right then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nakia...sis...come through and help me get myself together as well. You're services would be much appreciated.
> 
> Looks like we may have an antagonist....


	5. Confronting the Past

Sam waited out on the front porch with T’Challa and Nakia while Bucky shifted and flew over to the Klaue farm. Bucky glided upon the winds and snooped from the air at the farm three miles away from Sam’s home. He saw a few things out in the front yard but nothing else. But Bucky didn’t trust what he was seeing. He didn’t know why and didn’t want to get too close in case anyone started shooting at him. Crows in the Conjure South were not good omens and Bucky had learned his lesson the first time to avoid that form unless he really needed to cover large distances. He personally didn’t like being a bird of any kind since the accident but Sam needed his help and he figured he wouldn’t get low enough to ground to be in any danger so he used the form.

He flew on back to Sam’s and shifted back at the back door to the kitchen. He let himself in and got dressed in his relaxed T-shirt and sweats before he headed out the front door to speak with everyone on the porch.

Everyone turned to give him their attention. “So it looks like a farm from above, nothing out of the ordinary but I got the feeling I couldn’t trust what I saw. I don’t know why,” Bucky explained brushing his hair from his face.

“Whoever is there has their defenses up. But now that Sam knows who’s attacking he can strike back. He isn’t fighting blind,” Nakia said reassuringly.

A truck pulled up in the front yard and Erik got out.

“What’s up cuz!” Erik cried.

Sam looked at T’Challa confused.

“I called Erik because he specializes in crossing and uncrossing people. That’s not my specialty,” T’Challa explained as Erik walked up on the porch in jeans and a plaid button down looking like he stepped off a runway and less like he came in from working out in the fields.

They caught Erik up on what they’d learned and he smiled. There was a reason he specialized in curses and uncrossing; what people didn’t get was part of all of it was psychological. It was all mind games for the most part and Erik liked nothing more than a good mind game.

“Crossing people isn’t always necessary. Just letting people know you’re aware of them working against you is enough to make them stop, lest they incur something worse from their target. People like the anonymity of cursing sometimes, once that’s gone most don’t have the balls for it,” Erik explained before Bucky left back to the kitchen to strip and shift.

 

Bucky knocked on the Klaue's front door once he had a chance to compose himself and get dressed. He waited for someone to answer. After a few minutes Ulysses answered the door.

“The fuck you want freak?” Ulysses asked looking Bucky up and down. Bucky let the slight against him slide and stayed focused on what the objective of this face to face was.

“Just came to see you man. Sam **–** you remember Sam Wilson **–** he moved back in town and he mentioned he saw you in town a couple weeks ago. I wanted to come by and see how you’re doing,” Bucky said trying his best to strike up a conversation.

“Look you fuckin’ freak, I don’t give a shit what you or the rest of those --,” Klaue said pointing in the direction of Sam’s home.

Bucky started laughing and interrupted Kluae while he was speaking. He couldn’t pretend to care about talking to this piece of shit any longer. Bucky laughed a bit longer then suddenly stopped. “Yeah I’m not at all interested in that racist shit you’re talking. So I’m just going to deliver the message I came here to give you. The Wilson and Udaka families know what you’re doing. So cut it out or else,” Bucky said sternly before he shifted his eyes to bright yellow cat’s eyes and lunged at Klaue threateningly.

Klaue recoiled in fear crying, “Black dog!” Klaue almost fell backward into his house trying to shut the door on Bucky.

Bucky laughed to himself and walked off the porch flipping the property off. He made sure he was a good distance from the house before he stripped and shifted to his Rottweiler form, picked up his clothes and ran back. He enjoyed the run and couldn’t wait to tell everyone about the look on Klaue’s face.

 

Bucky got back and reported the message as received and recounted the encounter to everyone. Erik dapped Bucky up in approval and Sam hugged Bucky tight thanking him.

Bucky felt his heart flutter and pulse pick up with Sam's arms around him. He did his best not to hold onto Sam too long once Sam pulled back.

“This deserves a party,” Bucky said simply.

Sam looked at everyone.

“We’re in,” Nakia said for her and T’Challa.

“You know I’m in,” Erik said heading to the kitchen to start seeing what food Sam had to cook with.

“I’m gonna call Steve,” Sam said to Bucky.

“Good idea,” Bucky said smiling. He walked over to Nakia and took her hand. “Do you do shots my dear?” Bucky asked her.

“I do,” she said sweetly.

“A woman after my own heart!” Bucky cried as he showed Nakia and T’Challa to the kitchen and started pouring the drinks.

Steve arrived soon after Sam called with homemade cake. Sam met him at the door and Steve greeted T’Challa warmly as he walked in and shook hands with Nakia. The moment his hand touched her hand Steve knew she could tell. Steve had forgotten to put up a block.

Nakia gasped suddenly at the accidental read on Steve’s feelings and looked at Sam a bit panicked.

“Everything okay Nakia?” T’Challa asked her suddenly.

She looked back to Steve. “I’m sorry, sometimes it happens. I didn’t mean to,” she said as discreetly as she could manage.

“It’s alright,” Steve said smiling back and taking his hand back to put in his pockets until he could get his barrier up.  

The impromptu party turned into a welcome back party for Sam at some point. The mood was joyful and happy. You wouldn’t be able to tell any of the supernatural occurrences of the last month even happened there as everyone danced, laughed and ate while enjoying good company. Sam looked around and nodded, hoping the life and happiness now inhabiting the house pleased his family because it surely pleased Sam.

 

Steve excused himself to the bathroom and went upstairs. He walked out to see Sam walk into his bedroom. Steve thought about all the times he’d come so close to telling Sam how he felt and wondered if this time he’d see it through. Steve walked down the hall and saw Sam looking for something in his dresser.

“Hey Sam,” Steve said knocking on the door frame.

“Hey Steve, what’s up man?” Sam said smiling.

Steve took a deep breath and stepped into Sam’s room and looked into Sam’s eyes.

“I’ve been trying to tell you something for a while and every time I try to form the words…I just can’t seem to bring them together,” Steve confessed.

“Steve you can tell me anything,” Sam said turning to look at Steve. “What’s on your mind?”

“Sam…I love you,” Steve said in a rush, letting the words free from his chest. “I’ve loved you since we were teenagers.”

Sam only stared at him. Steve was unsure what Sam was feeling.

“Please say something,” Steve said softly not wanting to push Sam for an answer but his heart was literally in Sam’s hands at the moment.

“Can-can I have some time to process this?” Sam asked looking at Steve.

“Yeah-yeah…sure; take all the time you need,” Steve said softly backing away from Sam to give the other some space. As he stepped out into the hall Steve felt like blacking out. He couldn’t believe he’d just confessed to Sam. He didn’t want to think about Sam’s blank yet stunned expression or request for more time so he headed back downstairs to have other things take his mind off of what he just did.

Nakia looked around and felt something was off. She turned to T’Challa beside her on the couch.

“Something is wrong,” she muttered. “I have a bad feeling.”

“Me too,” T’Challa said looking around trying to figure out where he was picking up the feeling from.

Steve came back downstairs and heard Sam’s voice coming from the kitchen. He froze instantly.

 _That can’t be possible_ , Steve thought glancing back up at the top of the steps. He walked over and peeked into the kitchen. Sure enough Sam was sitting at the kitchen table talking with Erik who was standing by the backdoor.

“How-how long has Sam been in the kitchen?” Steve asked tapping Nakia on the shoulder.

“He’s been in there for a while,” she replied. “Something wrong?”

There was no way Sam could have passed Steve on the stairs without Steve seeing him. But there was someone that could. Steve looked at Bucky laughing at the TV and walked up to him.

“Do you think you’re funny Buck?” Steve asked through his teeth. Bucky stared up at Steve confused.

“What are you talking about Steve?” Bucky asked.

“All these years you encouraged me to confess and when I finally do, you pull _this_?" Steve asked through his teeth genuinely hurt. "Do you think looking like Sam to fool me is funny?”

Bucky looked horrified at Steve as Steve raised his voice. _Steve needed to stop talking_ , Bucky thought as Erik came back into the room to see why Steve was talking so loud.

“Steve stop talking **right** **now**!” Bucky said standing up quickly trying to shush Steve before he spilled his secret in front of everyone.

“What’s the problem?” Erik asked.

“Has Sam been upstairs at all?” Steve asked looking at Erik.

“No we’ve been talking in the kitchen for a while,” Erik said.

Steve looked back at Bucky upset and angry.

“I can’t look like other people Steve; I’m not a skin walker. You know that,” Bucky eyeing him. "What is wrong with you?"

“I just spoke to Sam upstairs,” Steve said looking at everyone.

Everyone froze dead still in the room.

“AYE Sam!” Erik called to him in the kitchen where he left him. Erik walked back into the kitchen and found it silent and empty. Sam’s chair was still in the same position as it had been when they were talking.

Erik walked back out to look at everyone. He didn’t know what to do as he felt fear well up in his chest as he said, “He’s not there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh shit....


	6. Shimmers of Where You Used to Be

Bucky changed immediately into his Rottweiler form and sniffed around the kitchen. He could only pick up long gone scents of Sam it didn’t make any sense.  Steve walked past him and checked the back door to see if it was open or not. T’Challa, Nakia and Erik all stared as Steve tried the knob and everyone saw that the door was locked. Quietly everyone returned to the living room unsure of what to do but worried nonetheless.

Bucky got dressed and started pacing. _How does someone just disappear in a house full of people?_ Bucky wondered furiously. 

“It has to be Klaue! No one else would do this!” Bucky said pissed off raising his voice. “I basically delivered the ultimatum just a few hours ago.”

“I agree, it was Klaue. We should start working on crossing him. It’s not like we don’t have a target,” Erik said as he thought through ways to do it.

“We can do that after we figure out where Sam went,” Steve said. “And I’m very interested in knowing what it was I spoke to earlier upstairs.”

“And what I was talking to in the kitchen,” Erik said looking at Steve with a similarly haunted expression on his face. 

“I’ll need something of Sam’s to figure this out,” T’Challa said looking at Steve, Bucky and Erik.

“One moment,” Bucky said heading upstairs to Sam’s room to find it. He checked Sam’s dresser and grabbed the wooden bead bracelet Sam’s grandmother gave to him. He wore it non stop for a while when he was little and for a time when he first moved back. Bucky handed the bracelet over to T’Challa, who passed it to Nakia. She concentrated while everyone watched as she tried to see where Sam could be. She rubbed her fingers over the bracelet, thankful that the bracelet was made of a natural material. It would make his energy easier to sense. Once she had it she touched T’Challa’s arm to give him what she gleaned. T’Challa walked straight outside and looked around and all around. It seemed like Sam was everywhere and nowhere.

It didn’t make any sense.

“It’s like he’s all over. I can’t pin him down anywhere,” T’Challa said feeling like Sam was in one place one moment and in another the next.

Erik thought about it then it clicked. “He could have been pulled between worlds. Remember how Grandmomma used to tell us that when we lost things ‘sometimes they aren’t lost just a bit too far left or right of here and now’?” Erik said looking at T’Challa.

T’Challa turned to look at Erik and smiled at him. For all of Erik’s goofing off during their lessons with their grandmother it seemed Erik did learn a few things from her. “You’re absolutely right Erik. It makes sense. Being between worlds can make things hard to find because they’re neither here nor there in location,” T’Challa said heading back in the house. “Steve where did you see Sam exactly upstairs?”

“He was walking into his room. But I seemed to catch him at the corner of my eye but then he was standing there looking for something in his dresser as any of us standing here. I walked off to come back downstairs. I’m still on the stairs when I hear Sam’s voices coming from the kitchen. All of you swore Sam hadn’t been upstairs at all.”

“Does Sam have any blank, black candles around?” Nakia asked.

“You could check the altar in the dining room,” Bucky said showing her the altar's location.

Nakia looked at the altar and approached it respectfully. She apologized to Sam’s family, told them what she needed to do to help Sam and checked under the antique wooden stand. She found a few candles and none of them looked dressed or intended for anything so she grabbed a black pillar candle and carried it back to the center of the living room. She took a seat in the floor crossed legged and placed the candle in front of herself.

“Okay, everyone spread out around the house. I’m going to try the only spell I can remember for lost things and hope it works. While I do this,” she said looking at each of them. “If you see Sam grab him and ground him on this plane. Understood?”

They all agreed and took different positions in the house. Steve took the front porch, Bucky took the kitchen and dining room, Erik took the upstairs hallway while T’Challa watched the living room.

Nakia snapped her fingers lighting the candle and started chanting softly. Each of them listened to her melodic voice grow steadily louder as the atmosphere shifted within the house. Bucky heard something in the kitchen and went to look. He caught a glimpse of Sam on the other side of the table in the middle of the room before he disappeared and Bucky could reach his hand. Bucky heard Erik curse out loud, most likely having missed Sam as well.

“I HAVE HIM! IN THE LIVING ROOM!” T’Challa yelled suddenly. “I need help holding him!”

Steve rushed to T’Challa from outside and hopped the couch to see T’Challa hugging Sam close but Sam looked like he was vibrating in and out of existence. One moment there, his silhouette would shake, he’d fade for a moment then come back. Steve grabbed Sam’s hand and held it, holding Sam’s arm against his chest. It was tough, it was everywhere he touched Sam he wanted to let go, the vibration was too strong and wouldn’t let Steve get a good grip on Sam to hold him. Erik and Bucky showed up seconds later and held onto Sam too.

“Nakia! Bring him over!” T’Challa said quickly feeling like he was about to let go of Sam any second.

Nakia changed the chant to thank the spirits for bringing the lost back to them and chanted hard to seal the veil back with Sam on their side. A gust of wind hit her in the face, extinguishing the candle. Nakia opened her eyes to see the candle extinguished. “Did it work? Did we get him?” she called out to ask.

“Yes, we got him,” T’Challa said winded and exhausted.

Nakia got up and looked over the back of the couch to see the five of them on the floor panting and shaking their heads.

Sam coughed and shook his head. “Can I kill that guy already?” Sam asked fed up with the bullshit already.

Bucky chuckled. “Ooo…dark, I like it on you,” Bucky said softly with a smirk.

Sam chuckled at Bucky. “You kill people right Erik?” Sam asked looking Erik in the eye.

“I don’t but this guy is pushing my fuckin’ buttons at this point,” Erik said grabbing Sam to give him a hug. Goodness it made no sense the kind of worry he’d felt not knowing where Sam was. Sam rubbed Erik’s back and told him he was just fine. When Erik let him go, Sam looked at Steve. Steve just stared at Sam not really having anything to say but so glad Sam was back. But he wondered if the confession he gave upstairs earlier was actually to Sam before the spell shifted him off their plane.

Sam eyed Steve. It all happened so quickly but he remembered talking to Steve upstairs in his room. Bits and pieces of the conversation were coming back to him but Sam needed time to sort all of it out.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Great, you're back Sam but....do you remember or not???


	7. Strike for Strike, Blow for Blow

**–A Couple Days Later–**

With time off from work before the Fall semester began, Sam focused on building his energy and making sure he was healthier as he started working on how to hit back. The ward T’Challa and Nakia helped him put up kept everything around the house at baseline normal. With Sam vigilantly protecting himself in different aspects he wasn’t encountering anything off or weird anymore.   

Sam sat at his kitchen table thinking about the plan he was about to put into motion and felt the weight of everything he’d been through since coming back to town. He thought about Steve’s confession and wondered how he felt about it, how he felt about what he’d been through being between worlds. He vaguely remembered Erik stepping out of the kitchen and then he was suddenly having black out after black out, unsure of where he was.

He heard a knock on the table and looked up to see Bucky looking at him. He was shirtless, his curls still damp. He must have just taken a shower, Sam figured.

“You alright?” Bucky asked again as he took a seat with Sam at the table.

“Yeah, I will be,” Sam said softly.

Bucky nudged Sam’s arm. “Say the word and I’ll run over there, burn the place down. You wouldn't have to cast a thing. We don’t have to tell anyone,” Bucky offered.

Sam stared into the other’s eyes and sighed. “Nah Buck, it’s okay. There’s something my grandma used to tell me, ‘Sammie, try not to hit back. But if you have to do it, do it strike for strike, blow for blow’.”

“Your grandma always was a wise woman,” Bucky said thinking fondly of the elderly woman that always used to give Bucky larger slices of pie than Sam and Steve.

“Yeah. She was,” Sam said softly sighing. “Twenty years fly by when you’re not looking. All of us have come such a long way since that day in the woods.”

Bucky thought back on the day his life changed and nodded. “We have,” he agreed.

Sam remembered the day Steve had led him into the woods near his home and introduced Sam to his new friend. Sam remembered meeting the little boy, bundled in the blanket Steve had brought him the previous day, sitting by the muddy river bank. He remembered sitting with Steve and talking with Bucky and watched the little boy gobble down the cookies and crackers Steve and Sam brought him.

He remembered how he and Steve left for a moment but turned back to convince Bucky to come with them. That Bucky could stay with one of them, that the woods was no place for a kid without a family. Bucky was later adopted by Steve’s mom, Corren, a few years later and raised with Steve as a brother.

“I never thanked you Sam, for befriending me,” Bucky said softly glancing over to look into Sam’s warm brown eyes. He wasn't sure if he'd ever tell Sam how much he loved him, but he knew he'd been waiting to tell Sam how thankful he was having had him in his life.

“Why would you thank me for that?” Sam asked confused looking at him.

Bucky shrugged. “I’ve told Steve this before but it wasn’t until you moved away that I realized I never said ‘thank you’ for that. I know-know enough about being cast out and shunned for this ability I never asked for,” Bucky said taking a deep breath. “For you and your family never being afraid of what I am, never treating me differently because of that…thank you Sam.” Bucky’s eyes watered but he blinked back the tears.

“I wouldn’t know how to treat you differently Buck,” Sam said looking into Bucky’s eyes as he moved to touch his arm. Sam knew Bucky didn’t like thinking about what his family had done to him, that it remained a source of anguish for Bucky to that day. So to hear Bucky mention it told Sam the other was healing and getting better regarding his trauma and Sam couldn’t be happier for him.

 

 

* * *

The next morning Sam went over his plan to employ four spells to work successively. He texted Steve at sunrise for the first one and waited until Steve texted him back an hour later that it was done. He texted Erik next and waited for confirmation. T’Challa’s portion was implemented to enrich Erik’s and made it that more trying to get rid of the longer it took Klaue to figure out what was going on. Once Sam got T’Challa’s confirmation he began his own spell to exacerbate each individual spell before his and to cloak everyone’s work by casting the sources in-between worlds to make detection impossible.

Everything was done by the afternoon. Sam felt unburdened and lighter than he'd felt in years. Casting took it out of him but it was nothing he couldn’t rest up from. In the midst of his peace, something nagged him as he realized he still had to talk to some people to get himself on one accord.

As he rode over to Erik’s place he had a thought. _He couldn’t properly maintain balance in his life if he wasn’t at peace himself_. He looked out on the wide rural landscape passing his window as he felt his grandmother’s presence with the thought he just had.

“Thanks Grandma,” Sam said to her as he continued driving, clear on what he needed to do.

He pulled up to Erik’s place and saw a few guys working out front. He spotted Erik and saw him walk over. How Erik managed to work for hours in the fields and never look disheveled Sam had yet to figure out.

“Don’t tell me something is wrong after all that work this morning,” Erik joked giving Sam a hug.

“Nah, everything is fine. It’s fine,” Sam said looking into Erik’s eyes.

“What you need then Sam?” Erik said.

“About how you look at me sometimes...speak to me,” Sam said softly. “Do you still have feelings for me Erik?”

Erik smirked and shook his head. “It’s all in good fun Sam. I know that what we had is over,” Erik said seriously. “It’s just nice to see you smile every now and then. I love that smile on you.” Sam smiled and Erik shook his head. “Nothing’s better than that. Especially after what you’ve been through. You deserve some carefree happiness.”

“Thank you Erik,” Sam said hugging him around the neck before letting him go. “I promise to be there. Just give me a call if you ever need anything because what you’ve done for me is beyond compare,” Sam said offering Erik a favor.

Erik waved him off. “Man whatever. I told you I got you,” Erik said. “But I’ll accept. A favor from you could come in handy.”

“It’s limited to magic only. I’m not doing anything freaky with ya ass. That part of our relationship is over ya hear me?” Sam said laughing.

“Oh now you limit it?” Erik said surprised. “Wow Sam, it’s like that?”

“Yeah, I’m dead serious Erik. Don’t waste that favor on a bootycall that will never happen alright,” Sam said looking him in the eye.

“Okay, okay,” Erik said looking at Sam.

“I should let you get back to work,” Sam said motioning to the guys working in the yard.

“Yeah, gotta finish the summer harvest,” Erik said.

“I’ll leave you to it. I’ll talk to you later Erik,” Sam said heading back to his truck. He got in and turned it on.

Erik came to the passenger window and leaned in. “Sam,” the tone in Erik’s voice had changed from playful to solemn. “It’s honestly Steve you need to talk to.”

“Where do you think I’m headed next?” Sam said smiling.

“Good luck. Wishing you well,” Erik said leaning away from the truck. "Later!”

“Later!” Sam said backing up and waved goodbye. Erik went back to working and hoped shit worked out. The conversation between those two was probably over a decade overdue.

If only he could be a fly on the wall for that one, Erik thought.

 

* * *

Sam pulled up on Steve’s family farm and saw Steve’s mom sitting out on the porch. Sam walked up feeling a great pang of guilt for not coming out to see her sooner. Sam started up the steps and saw the caring, tan crinkled face of the woman that used to babysit him.

“Who are you?” she said softly looking at Sam.

“It’s me Ms. Corren, Samuel Wilson,” Sam said respectfully.

“Impossible. My Sammy went away, he would come see me first thing if he came back,” she said looking Sam in the eye hard before she started smiling so warmly like only a mother could. “Come here son,” she said opening her arms. Sam walked over to her and hugged her tight. Her frame more frail than Sam remembered her feeling in his arms. Sam felt tears come to eyes as he missed his own mom. Corren rocked Sam gently and patted his back soothing him.

“I know they miss you too Sam,” she said softly. _She always knew what to say somehow_ , Sam remembered.

Sam nodded and sucked back tears. Maybe this was why he hadn’t made it over sooner aside from all the other things going on in his life. Ms. Corren reminded him so much of his mom, that seeing her would remind him too sharply of what had been taken from him just a short time ago. 

Sam stood up again and Ms. Corren offered the rocker next to her and poured him some of her homemade iced tea from the pitcher. Sam happily accepted and drank the delicious tea she’d been making since they were all kids. Black tea, lightly sweetened with honey blossoms brewed in. It was heavenly and Sam was so happy to be enjoying it again.

“Momma, do you want-,” Steve said stepping out of the house quickly to ask her about lunch when he saw Sam sitting there beside his mom.

“Look Stevie, Sammie came by to see me,” she said happily.

Sam smiled at her then looked Steve in the eye. Steve knew why Sam was there but he wasn’t exactly sure if he was ready to have that conversation on such short notice.

 

Sam spent a few more minutes with Ms. Corren while Steve finished up making lunch and got his mom back in the house and eating her lunch. They walked out into the field a good distance quietly crushing grass underfoot as they walked side by side in the field the two of them used to play in everyday after school.

“Sorry for not coming by sooner,” Sam apologized.

“You were busy being cursed. Don’t sweat it,” Steve said shrugging it off.  

“The night I got pulled between worlds…that was me upstairs Steve. I don’t know how but I was in both places. I remember talking to Erik the whole time but I also remember going to my room to look for something in my dresser and I remember what you told me,” Sam explained feeling his throat start to close on his words. Sam took a moment to gather himself and felt tears start falling down his cheeks.

 _What the hell was it about Steve’s place that was making him cry so easily today?_ Sam wondered.

Sam wiped his eyes and took a deep breath. “Part of me knew-always knew-I think and had hoped you would have moved on before I came back because-because I didn’t _ever_ think I’d be strong enough to do this,” Sam said as more tears streamed from his eyes.

“What do you mean Sam?” Steve asked. He was concerned about Sam crying but he was trying his hardest to understand what Sam was trying to say at the same time.

Sam cleared his throat. “I love you like a brother Steve. How could I not the way you came to my aide in the past 2 months. Fuck all that, been there since we were kids.”

Steve nodded and sighed. It hurt. He couldn’t put it any other way but now he knew the answer to the question he’d been holding close for so long; the question that had Steve keeping Sam at a certain distance for so long.

Sam grabbed Steve’s hand as if to shake it and brought it up higher like they used to do as kids; when they promised nothing would come between them and waited for Steve to remember. Steve stared at Sam and remembered the afternoon they first made up their little handshake. Steve smirked before they turned their clasped hands and each of them kissed the back of the other’s hand.

“We good?” Sam asked sheepishly.

A smile grew on Steve’s lips as he nodded his head. “Yeah, we’re good,” Steve said pulling Sam into a hug. Sam hugged Steve back and sighed.

“I love you Stevie,” Sam breathed, glad they still had each other after this.

“I love you too Sammie,” Steve said letting Sam go. “Come. Have lunch. You know my mom isn’t going to be satisfied with a short visit after all this time.”

Sam laughed out loud. “True,” he said as he and Steve started walking back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHELP! That got tense there for a moment but Sam and Steve gon be alright. :D
> 
> Oh Bucky.....


	8. Come Around

Sam arrived back home as the sun was setting with a mental reminder to make T’Challa and Nakia some fresh strawberry pastries to thank them for all their help. He turned the truck off and admired the feeling of his surroundings. No oppressive feeling, no feeling of being watched. Only time would tell if their efforts that morning would take but until then Sam was determined to enjoy the peace and not worry. He got out of the truck to see Bucky sitting on the porch reading a magazine. Bucky glanced briefly at Sam as he walked up the porch steps.

“ _Almost_ got up to go look for you,” Bucky shook his head. “I don’t know about you Wilson, ya never know when you’ve been snatched or paralyzed,” Bucky joked putting his magazine aside.

Sam smiled and went to stand by the porch railing to look out on his land and felt his heart twist, it was still not at ease.

“Went to see Erik and Steve...turns out Steve had a crush on me,” Sam said turning to look at Bucky, who was watching him from the rocker.

Bucky smiled gently. _Finally. Good job Stevie_ , Bucky thought.

“You don’t say,” Bucky said. “How’d all that go?”

“Thanked both of them for their help, how I probably wouldn’t be here alive without them. That they’re valued friends to me,” Sam said watching Bucky’s body language. “….and just that.”

Bucky nodded in understanding.

“You don’t have anything to tell me Buck?” Sam asked waiting on a response.

Bucky stared into Sam’s eyes wanting to tell him everything he’d been holding onto for years as well but continued to hold onto it.

“Nah, Sam,” Bucky said wishing his voice hadn’t cracked on Sam’s name.

“Well, I have something to tell you,” Sam said strengthening his resolve. “I think I’ve loved you since we were sixteen years old,” Sam said finally feeling his truth leave his lips. His chest felt vulnerable and hollow now that the truth he’d been guarding for so long was out in the open between them.

Bucky stared at Sam and before he knew it he was on his feet, closing the distance between each of them and kissing Sam deeply. Bucky pulled Sam close and kissed him as he’d longed to for so long. Sam opened up for him and kissed him back. Bucky felt his body tremble with overwhelming happiness as he realized he was actually kissing the one he loved.

When they pulled apart to breathe, Sam was gasping for breath as tears fell from his eyes and he wiped Bucky’s tears away.

“Why are you crying?” Bucky asked placing kisses on Sam’s cheeks. “Why are you crying?”

“It’s been one of those days for some reason. I just keep crying at the drop of a hat,” Sam explained shaking his head. Bucky grinned wide and kissed Sam’s cheek softly. Sam looked into his eyes and shook his head. “I always hoped but never dreamed you’d feel the same about me,” Sam explained.

Bucky looked at Sam dumbfounded. “You have no idea how long I’ve been in love with you too clearly,” Bucky admitted as a laugh came out at the same time, both at what he just said and the situation they’d found themselves in confessing to one another.

“Tell me about it,” Sam breathed. “Like seriously I want details.”

“Gladly,” Bucky said pulling Sam back into a deep but tender kiss.

Bucky smiled at Sam and was more than happy to tell Sam all about his feelings for him. But Bucky wanted to enjoy the moment they were sharing for a little awhile longer.

 

 

* * *

Hours later when Sam had got settled in and got some dinner on the stove, he walked out into the living room and saw Bucky coming down the stairs. They locked eyes and Sam felt his heart flutter. This was probably the longest Sam had seen Bucky in human form except for when the other was sleeping. It was different knowing what he knew now about Bucky’s feelings and sharing space with him. The pull to be in his space was strong and Sam wasn’t really sure what it was or what was causing it but knowing that Bucky felt the same made going with the impulse feel okay.

Bucky leaned against the arm of the sofa as Sam approached him.  Bucky reached out and took Sam’s hand as he pulled Sam close. Sam pressed closer as he kissed his way into Bucky’s mouth and Bucky happily let him. He felt his hands against Sam’s sides and felt soft skin grace his fingertips as he was quickly losing himself to Sam’s kiss and taste. Bucky pulled back to breathe a bit dazed and looked up into Sam’s hooded eyes and knew exactly what it was the other wanted. Sam drew closer and placed kiss after kiss on Bucky’s cheek before he bit gently at Bucky’s earlobe.

“How about we skip dinner and go upstairs?” Sam asked feeling his hand down Bucky’s chest.

Bucky looked into Sam’s eyes and couldn’t believe his ears, that he’d actually heard those words come from Sam’s mouth. While he wanted the same and Heaven knows he did, Bucky felt conflicted. Sam went back to kissing at Bucky’s jaw as Sam thrust against Bucky’s thigh showing him his obvious desire for more.

“I’m going to start staying at my place,” Bucky said putting into words the thoughts that had started coming to mind since he and Sam confessed their feelings a few hours ago.

“And why would you do that when you’re currently staying here?” Sam asked pulling back to look at Bucky for an answer. Bucky looked into Sam’s eyes and felt his resolve stiffen.

“We’re doing this right? You and me? Seeing each other?” he asked softly, still not fully convinced the past few hours between them had actually happened.  

“Yeah. Yeah we are,” Sam whispered allowing his admission to sit with him properly. Goodness, this was honestly what he’d wanted for years now, Sam thought looking into Bucky’s blue eyes.

“Then I should stay at my place and visit properly. Not stay over for days at a time,” Bucky explained.

Sam smirked and placed a kiss on his lips. "Says the guy that used to sneak over to my house and sleepover in my room," Sam said fondly remembering their childhood.

Bucky chuckled at that. He remembered that too. He’d shift and sneak out at night and go to Sam’s house. He knew Sam didn’t sleep well due to night terrors at the time and Bucky wasn’t much of a sleeper. So he’d come over and keep Sam company during the night.

"Yeah, those were the days,” he said.

“They were,” Sam whispered before he started sucking at Bucky’s neck and massaging Bucky’s thigh awfully close to his erection. “But we were kids back then and I have a few ideas of what we can do in bed together now that we’re grown.”

Bucky sighed and tried to hold onto his resolve in the presence of the look in Sam’s eye. The look that said Sam knew exactly what he wanted and what he was willing to give if Bucky just said the words then and there. Bucky pressed his lips against Sam’s as he felt the other follow him a bit once he broke the kiss.

“I want to do this right Samuel,” Bucky stressed. “I don’t want to rush this or get ahead of ourselves in any way.”

“We won’t, I promise, but tonight can we-,” Sam started to say as Bucky smirked.

“Have dinner where I’ll kiss you goodnight and leave? Of course,” Bucky said gently.

“Fuuuck…you’re old fashion,” Sam exhaled roughly realizing his evening would not be ending the way he’d hoped.

Bucky chuckled. “The fact we’re even here with each other despite the odds…this is a dream come true Sam,” Bucky looked at Sam’s handsome face and felt his heart rejoice, “You’re all I’ve wanted and then some. Let me be old fashion,” Bucky said softly.

Sam looked into Bucky’s eyes and shook his head. He was probably right. They should take it slow and take their time. There wasn’t any rush. They had time. Sam kissed Bucky’s cheek and smirked.

“Had I known you were like this I would have confessed back then and maybe we’d be at third base by now,” Sam joked.

“If scoring is home plate, what would third base be?” Bucky asked curious.

Sam shrugged. “Seeing each other naked but no touching?” Sam offered.

“Okay, fourth?”

“Blow jobs,” Sam said confidently.

“Could have sworn someone in high school told me that fourth was ‘just the tip’”, Bucky said as Sam hit him on the shoulder.

“You perv,” Sam said laughing as he backed up from Bucky. “I’m gonna check on dinner.”

“Alright," Bucky said watching Sam walk away to the kitchen.

 _Happiness this pure should be illegal_ , Bucky thought as the doorbell rang.

"Buck,” Sam said from the kitchen.

“Yeah I got it,” he said glancing at the door before getting up to answer it.

As he reached for the knob he got a strange feeling. Bucky checked the peep hole and saw it was a man a little younger than himself.

“Sam? You expecting someone?” Bucky asked.

Sam walked out of the kitchen with a large knife in hand. “No, I’m not. But I stay ready,” Sam said worried it was Ulysses on the other side of the door.

Bucky nodded and changed his eyes to peer through the dark as he opened the door and looked past the screen door. There stood a man Bucky didn’t recognize.

“Can I help you?” Bucky asked confused but not making any move to open the screen door.

“I hope so,” the man said as Bucky watched the man's eyes change and display the subtle shine of cat’s eyes. “I’m looking for my brother…James.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was A LOT I don't even know where to start. But Bucky AND Sam confessed and it's mutual, yay! I'm so happy for them!
> 
> I'd like to thank those handful of you that commented on every chapter to let me know how you felt about the story's progression. ❤️❤️❤️ If I could show more love to yall I would, just know that. Yall are the best! You made completing this story a labor of love and community.
> 
>  
> 
> [My Tumblr](http://ineffableblack.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> **Part 2 coming October 2018.**


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